The second church we went to on our Visita Iglesia on a Good Friday was the one that we often go to when attending mass every Sunday. This is also where I was baptized and Christened. This is the same church where my daughter was also Christened.
According to Wikipedia, the Immaculate Conception Cathedral, or also known as the Pasig Cathedral, is located at Plaza Rizal in Barangay Malinao, Pasig City in the Philippines. It is the cathedral or seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pasig, belonging to the Vicariate of the Immaculate Conception. It was established as a mission-parish by the Augustinian missionaries on July 2, 1573, coinciding the foundation of the town of Pasig (now, Pasig City).
The former Immaculate Conception Parish was administered by the CICM Fathers from 1910 to 1979, after which the Filipino clergy took over the pastoral leadership of the parish. Until 2003, the parish was a part of the Archdiocese of Manila. On August 21, 2003, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pasig was inaugurated, with the elevation of the parish into the status of a cathedral.
This church had a lot more people inside. I guess its because its located at the middle of the town proper which is near everything else like the City Hall, the Public Market, the town Plaza, and many of the restaurants and commercial establishments.
As in every church during this day, we see a drape covering the saints. This time its a purple drape, unlike at the Sta. Clara De Montefalco where they used a white drape.
There was also an INRI - Christ nailed on a cross - that the people were setting up infront of the altar.
The letters “INRI” are initials for the Latin title that Pontius Pilate had written over the head of Jesus Christ on the cross (John 19:19). Latin was the official language of theRoman Empire.
The words were "Iesvs Nazarenvs Rex Ivdaeorvm." Latin uses “I” instead of the English “J”, and “V” instead of “U” (i.e., Jesus Nazarenus Rex Judaeorum). The English translation is "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews."
The Early Church adopted the first letters of each word of this inscription “INRI” as a symbol. Throughout the centuries INRI has appeared in many paintings of the crucifixion.
The image of Christ was not really life-size because it was a bit small and thin. The body structure was also a bit irregular. But who am I to argue with the sculpture/artists who made this creation?
We can see this guy trying to make sure everything is properly setup. This is how I concluded that the image of Christ was a bit small. Just compare it with the guy beside the image.
People were also praying at the different stations of the cross. We can see that the stations are also covered up just like at the altar.
After praying for a while and saying a portion of the rosary, we then proceeded on our way to the next church.
Again, this was all impromptu. We have no idea yet which church we will be going next.
Outside, we saw two men selling colorful balloons that will surely be an attraction for children. Though I am not really sure if kids will be going to church during a Good Friday, but its admirable that they try to spend Good Friday working to earn a living.
Popular images of characters from widely-known cartoons like Cars, The Lion King, Hello Kitty, Spongebob Squarepants, Finding Nemo, Dora the Explorer and a lot more can be seen from the balloons.
What about you? How did you spend the Good Friday?
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